Science News / August 16th, 2008

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In This Issue

Sequencing the dead to save the living: Reviving ancient genomes of long-extinct creatures offers a window into past extinctions—and may help prevent future die outs
No gene is an island: Even as biologists catalog the discrete parts of life forms, an emerging picture reveals that life’s functions arise from interconnectedness
The decider: Informing the debate over the reality of ‘free will’ requires learning something about the lateral habenula
This week's table of contents

August 16th, 2008

On the cover: From a standing start, bushbabies can easily outjump humans. Photo: John Downer Productions

Built for Speed

Animals would prove fierce competitors at the Olympics — if only they would stay in their lanes.
Welcome to the Quantum Internet

Quantum encryption is here, but the laws of physics can do much more than protect privacy.
Neuron Killers

Misfolded, clumping proteins evade conviction, but they remain prime suspects in neurodegenerative diseases.
Nanomagnets tackle cancer

Under the influence of an external magnetic field, tiny magnets act as highly localized space heaters, warming to temperatures that kill adjacent cancer cells. (p. 5)
Quantum physics makes water different

The length of bonds connecting water molecules could demonstrate quantum effects and help explain some of water’s weirdness.
Seeing the smallest atom

Electron microscopes can now image single atoms of hydrogen.
Protein links metabolism and circadian rhythms

Scientists have known for ages that metabolism is tied to the body’s daily rhythms. Two new studies suggest how.
Against the grains

People on either a low-carbohydrate or Mediterranean diet fared better over two years than those on a low-fat diet.
Asthma oddity

Helicobacter pylori, a common microbe that colonizes the stomach, might protect against asthma.
Viagra and women

Viagra eases some sexual problems for women taking antidepressants
Statin snag

A gene variant explains why some people get muscle pains from cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins.
Fugitives spread bumblebee diseases

Pathogens hitchhike on commercial bees that escape from greenhouses. These escapees bring disease to wild bumblebees.
Magnetic sense linked to molecule

Fruit fly experiments shed light on animals’ use of Earth’s magnetic field for orientation and navigation.
How the snake got its fangs

A study of snake embryos suggests that fangs evolved once, then moved around in the head to give today’s snakes a variety of bites.
Parasitic plant gets more than a meal

The parasitic vine known as dodder really sucks. It pierces the tissue of other plants — some of which are important crops — extracting water and nutrients needed for its own growth. But it also consumes molecules that scientists could manipulate to bring on the parasite’s demise.
Toddlers triumphant

In new studies, toddlers display dramatic advances in object recognition that may underlie verbal and symbolic achievements.
Core calculations

Number words may serve as mental tools for expanding on basic, nonverbal numerical knowledge rather than as determinants of such knowledge.

Blogs:

Science & the Public Is Your Fish Oil Polluted?
By Janet Raloff Nov 20th 2008

Columns:

Comment Debates over definition of planet continue and inspire
By Alan Stern Nov 21st 2008

Math Trek How to (really) trust a mathematical proof
By Julie Rehmeyer
Mathematicians develop computer proof-checking systems in order to realize century-old dreams of fully precise, accurate mathematics. Nov 14th 2008

Bulletin Board: